A 14-year-old Pelham boy is fighting for his life in a Hamilton hospital after being struck by a car while riding a skateboard on Foss Rd. near Welland’s Balsam St., Wednesday evening.

At about 7:10 p.m., Niagara Regional Police and Welland firefighters responded to the scene of the collision after the teenager sustained life-threatening injuries when struck by a 1995 Pontiac Grand Prix on the dark stretch of road. The car’s windshield was shattered by the impact.

Police said in a news release that two boys, aged 13 and 14, were headed west on Foss Rd. when the older boy was struck by the eastbound car, driven by a 32-year-old Welland woman with a four-year-old girl in the car with her.

The boy was flown by air ambulance to Hamilton hospital where he was last reported in critical condition. The other three parties involved were unharmed.

NRP spokesman Const. Derek Watson said on Thursday the identities of the people involved in the collision will not be released.

He said the location of the collision is where a motorist may not expect to see someone on the pavement.

“I think that stretch of roadway, I don’t believe there’s a sidewalk there. There’d be limited lighting. It’s a dark area,” he said.

Watson said the cause of the collision remains under investigation.

He wouldn't speak about any specific cases but noted a need for skateboard safety in general - both on the part of riders and drivers.

While skateboard parks are the safest places to practice the sport, he said not every community has them.

Pelham does not have a skateboard park. Town youths have recently requested municipal councillors include funding in Pelham’s budget for a facility at Centennial Park in Fenwick.